Religious Governmentality

Dietrich Jung,Kirstine Sinclair

doi:10.33356/temenos.78154

Dietrich Jung, Kirstine Sinclair

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.78154

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Abstract

   In this article on the role of religion in the formation of modern subjectivities we use a contemporary transnational Islamist organization, Hizb ut-Tahrir, as our example. We examine how technologies of domination are combined with norm-setting technologies of the self in shaping new modern Muslim subjectivities among its members. First, we present our theoretical perspective and analytical framework. Then we describe the ideological roots of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the intellectual universe of nineteenth-century thinking about Islamic reform. Third, we analyse the practice of tooling or processing minds, souls, convictions, physical appearance, and behaviour among members of the organization. As our major interest lies not in Hizb ut-Tahrir as such but in the role of religion in the formation of modern social subjectivities, we conclude with some general reflections on this question.  

Highlights

In this article on the role of religion in the formation of modern subjectivities we use a contemporary transnational Islamist organization, Hizb ut-Tahrir, as our example
The construction of individuals as subjects was a central aspect of modernity in the later works of Michel Foucault
State and subject formation, and modernity at the macro and micro levels occurred in parallel and intertwining processes, as the German sociologist Norbert Elias argues in his landmark book Der Prozess der Zivilisation (The Civilizing Process, Elias 1936)

Summary

Introduction

In this article on the role of religion in the formation of modern subjectivities we use a contemporary transnational Islamist organization, Hizb ut-Tahrir, as our example. As a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, you are expected both to be able to refer to the party’s ideological framework in a specific manner and to represent the party in dress and behaviour, constituting yourself as a religiously guided, moral modern Muslim subject.

Results

Conclusion